Press Releases
Durbin Introduces Bill To Boost Agricultural Research Funding
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today introduced new legislation that would authorize a five percent annual funding increase over the next five years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). With most domestic agriculture research on the decline, the America Grows Act would restore the United States' commitment to publically-funded agriculture research at USDA. Durbin announced the bill while visiting th… Continue Reading
09.09.19
Durbin Calls For Acting Commissioner To Take Decisive Action To Stop The Vaping Epidemic Or Resign
CHICAGO - In the wake of hundreds of illnesses and multiple reported deaths of vaping-related lung disease, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a news conference to urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take immediate action to address the public health epidemic of e-cigarettes, especially among children and young people. Last week, Durbin sent a letter calling on FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to take decisive action within the next ten days to properly regulate e-ciga… Continue Reading
09.06.19
Durbin, Colleagues Urge Facebook To Enforce Gun Selling Rules On Its Digital Marketplace
CHICAGO-Following an investigative report by The Wall Street Journal, which found that gun sales are being conducted on Facebook Marketplace in clear violation of the company's policy banning such sales, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ed Markey (D-MA) and 13 of his Democratic Senate colleagues in calling on the social media giant to monitor its own platform and enforce its own gun selling rules. "As reported by the Wall Street Journal, users simply… Continue Reading
09.06.19
Durbin To Acting FDA Commissioner: Take Decisive Action To Stop The Vaping Epidemic Or Resign
CHICAGO - Following the death of a third person related to a mystery respiratory illness linked to vaping, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to take decisive action within the next ten days to properly regulate e-cigarettes and the accompanying kid-friendly flavors and products. In the letter, Durbin said that should Acting Commissioner Sharpless fail to act within ten days, Durbin will ca… Continue Reading
09.06.19
Durbin, Colleagues Urge President Trump To Push For Action Against North Korea For Violation Of U.N. Security Resolutions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Mark Warner (D-VA) in a letter to President Donald Trump urging the President to intensify efforts to build a durable pathway towards diplomatic denuclearization of North Korea, and more specifically, to recognize that North Korea's series of ballistic missile tests clearly violate United Nations (U.N.) … Continue Reading
09.05.19
Durbin Highlights Bipartisan Legislation To Strengthen Rural Health Workforce
GRANITE CITY - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a news conference to highlight bipartisan legislation to address critical rural health workforce shortages. Introduced last month, the Rural America Health Corps Act would create a new program that builds upon the existing National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program by providing new, dedicated student loan forgiveness funding for health care providers that serve in rural communities. Twenty percent of Americans live in rural communities, yet o… Continue Reading
09.05.19
Durbin Demands Answers On Elimination Of Medical Deferred Action
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), penned a letter to Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Acting U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ken Cuccinelli, and Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Matthew T. Albence demanding answers on USCIS's decision to end consideration of non-military deferred action requests, including medical deferre… Continue Reading
09.04.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $38 Million To Combat Opioid Epidemic In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Illinois a total of $37,906,897 through the State Opioid Response Grant Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Overdose Data to Action Funding Program. Under today's announcement, the State of Illinois will receive $28,989,372 in funding through the State Opioid Response Grant Program. Also under today's announc… Continue Reading
09.04.19
Durbin Highlights Bipartisan Legislation To Strengthen Rural Health Workforce
CARBONDALE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a news conference to highlight bipartisan legislation to address critical rural health workforce shortages. Introduced last month, the Rural America Health Corps Act would create a new program that builds upon the existing National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program by providing new, dedicated student loan forgiveness funding for health care providers that serve in rural communities. Twenty percent of Americans live in rural communities, yet onl… Continue Reading
09.04.19
Durbin, Dem Senators Press Devos To Provide Automatic Closed School Discharges To Former ITT Tech Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos calling for automatic closed school discharges for former ITT Tech (ITT) student borrowers. The 2016 borrower defense rule-which is still in effect despite DeVos' recently released revised rule eliminating protections for students-provides automatic closed school discharges for borrowers who have… Continue Reading
09.03.19
Durbin, Shaheen, Portman Lead Bipartisan Ukraine Caucus Leadership Letter Urging Trump Administration To Release Obligated Military Security Assistance For Ukraine
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Ron Johnson (D-WI) in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney urging the Trump Administration to release obligated military security assistance for Ukraine. The Senators' letter comes in response to media reports that the Administration is holding up the funds, which were approve… Continue Reading
08.30.19
Durbin Statement On Devos Rule Gutting Student Loan Borrower Defense
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos eliminated the Obama-era Borrower Defense Rule that protects student borrowers and taxpayers from predatory for-profit schools. The rewritten rule issued by DeVos today also eliminates the restrictions on class action bans and mandatory arbitration clauses that were included in the Obama Rule and pushed for by Durbin. "This rule is another Trump-DeVos giveaway to… Continue Reading
08.29.19
Durbin, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration End Remain In Mexico Policy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and 22 of his Democratic Senate colleagues in calling on the Trump Administration to stop restricting access to the U.S. asylum system by ending its Remain in Mexico policy. The deceptively named Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy blocks legal asylum seekers from being in the U.S. while they await court hearings in their cases, forcing them to wait in dangerous cities in Mexico for extended periods of time. … Continue Reading
08.29.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $123 Million In Federal Funding For Emergency Preparedness in Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced more than $123 million in federal funding to improve emergency preparedness across Illinois. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded state and local authorities, transportation agencies, and port facility operators in Illinois preparedness grants totaling $123,916,337 to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism and other hazards. "The federal government plays a… Continue Reading
08.29.19
Illinois Congressional Delegation Urges President Trump To Support State's Request For Federal Assistance From Flood Damage
WASHINGTON - The entire Illinois Congressional Delegation sent a letter to President Donald Trump supporting Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's request for federal assistance for the State of Illinois to help 33 counties recover from severe flooding that occurred from February to July. This year's flooding is the longest flood event to ever occur in Illinois. "Many communities experienced power outages, road closures, and significant damage to homes and businesses. More than 1,694 homes and bus… Continue Reading
08.28.19
Durbin, Klobuchar, Senators Press AG Barr To Rescind Decision To Limit Asylum Due To Family Ties
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 10 of their Senate colleagues to call on Attorney General William Barr to rescind his decision in Matter of L-E-A-, which limits access to asylum for people fleeing persecution abroad because of their family ties. For more than 30 years, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and multiple federal circuit courts have acknowledged that a family group can be a "particular social group" as the basis … Continue Reading
08.28.19
Durbin Statement On Senator Isakson's Decision To Resign
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) announced that he will resign at the end of 2019: "Johnny Isakson's departure from the Senate is the loss of a friend and a brave, constructive voice America desperately needs. Johnny stepped up for sensible immigration reform and defied the fire breathers and haters in his own party. I sent him a series of deserved fan letters. "He gathered warring Senator… Continue Reading
08.27.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $450,000 In Federal Funding To Support Maternal Health In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has been awarded $450,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program. The funding will support IDPH efforts to identify, review, and characterize maternal deaths, and identify prevention opportunities. "No nation as rich and advanced as the United States… Continue Reading
08.27.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $30 Million For Cancer Research In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that three Illinois-based organizations have been awarded nearly $30 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery studies in their communities. "This federal funding will support the important work being done at some of Illinois' best research institutions," Durbin said. "Strong investments in med… Continue Reading
08.27.19
Durbin Presses FDA To Regulate E-Cigarettes In Aftermath Of Vaping Death And Illnesses
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless and Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller to get off the sidelines and address the public health epidemic of e-cigarettes, especially among children and young people. In a letter to Sharpless and Zeller, Durbin cited the death of an Illinoisan who had recently vaped, and was hospitalized with severe respiratory illness. According to the Ill… Continue Reading